Wednesday is Pizza Night for us – EVERY WEDNESDAY!  You’d think the kids would be tired of it by now, but we’ve been doing this recipe weekly for years now.  Since I work from home that day, I have the time to make the dough, let it rise, make the sauce, etc.  It’s not a difficult recipe at all, but you need the time – a good Sunday night meal.  We make 1 larger one for the parents and 2 smaller ones for each kid – because that happens to be how many pizza stones we have.  I highly recommend the pizza stones, as the crust comes out much crisper.

Dough

• 4 teaspoons dry yeast (2 packages)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2½ cups flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Sauce

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Dash of sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Basil, sliced thinly prior to adding to sauce

1. Place pizza stones in the cold oven. Heat oven to 425°.
2. Mix the dry yeast, sugar and warm water in the Cuisinart. Bubbles should begin to form after 3-5 minutes. If bubbles don’t form, your yeast may be dead.
3. Add 1 ½ cups flour, salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the Cuisinart and mix well. Allow the mixture to rise in the Cuisinart bowl for 30 minutes.  Dough should rise about double (see before and after photos)
4. While the dough rises, cook the sauce:
   • Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
   • Add diced tomatoes to the garlic, along with the oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
   • Remove from heat. Using an emulsion blender, blend the sauce to desired consistency. Add sliced basil.

1. After the dough has risen, add the remaining flour and blend well until the mixture forms a ball to one side.
2. Remove the dough and kneed for 5 minutes, adding enough flour as needed to make the dough smooth and elastic.
3. Divide the dough into 2 balls (or 4 if making individual pizzas). Allow the dough to rise for 5 minutes.
4. Shape the dough into flat disks. Remove pizza stones from oven and transfer dough to each stone. Apply sauce and any additional desired toppings (but cheese is best!). Bake pizza for 10 minutes until cheese has melted.

Prep time: Total Prep – about 1 hour (5 for yeast to bubble, 45 minutes for first rise, 5 for kneading, 5 for second rise, 5 for dressing pizzas)

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Oven Temperature: 425°

Servings: 6